A small act of kindness can go a long way. That’s the message a California woman shared on Thanksgiving.

Carmen Mendez said she debated posting a picture on the holiday, but decided to go ahead since it was a day to give thanks and so many people were enjoy yummy meals. A few days before Thanksgiving, Mendez was at a Raising Cane’s restaurant with her boyfriend. As they waited for their order, they spotted a homeless woman asking people throwing away their leftovers if she could have them.

“Not one person said yes, they all ignored her and threw it away,” Mendez said on Facebook. “It broke my heart… I have been volunteering with the homeless now for many years… they don’t repulse me or make me sick to my stomach. I hold them all with so much love.”

Mendez said she told her boyfriend she wanted to give the homeless woman any leftovers that they had, but when they finished eating they couldn’t find her. Just as Mendez was about to throw away several fries and one leftover chicken strip she said a soft voice asked her if she had anything left.

“I turned around and it was her... I gave her my food and watched her sit and eat…but something didn’t feel right.”

Mendez said the woman deserved so much more. She deserved a hot meal, so Mendez went and ordered more food while the stranger began eating the leftovers.

“She was getting ready to get up and leave when I surprised her with this meal,” Mendez said. “The look on her face said it all.”

Mendez said she has never felt anything like the way she felt after that. She described it as “pure, real gratitude.”

“That hug she gave me was like a hug I had never felt… those tears she shed felt deep in my heart… I held her tight and let her let it out.”

She just held the woman and said it was a moment she’ll never forget. Mendez said before she brought the warm meal over she could tell it made other customers angry and “disgusted,” but she didn’t care.

Her final advice is something we should all take into consideration, especially this time of year:

“Next time you judge a homeless person think twice…not all of them are homeless because of a drug addiction or because they are lazy.”

Her photo has been shared more than 89,000 times and has more than 200,000 likes